About

About me:

I have to admit I have always had a particular disdain for the statement: “So; tell us a little bit about you…”

For me, it is one of the most daunting statements you can ever be faced with. I do not know a single person who can capture who they are in just a few sentences. I guess that could partly be due to the fact I am Irish, and we do love to talk!

In saying that, I am fully aware that I do need to tell you a little bit about me here.
So; I am going to start with the basics: My name is Giana or Gigi as my friends like to call me. Nice to meet you!

I was born and raised in the rebel county, Cork, in the South of Ireland. Nearly eight years ago I set out on an adventure. I left my beloved homeland behind and embarked on a new journey by moving to Spain. A move which, to this day, I feel was the best move I could ever have made.

About my Blog:

My blog is a glimpse of Spain, and life, through my eyes. While it started out as a record of my travels, it has, naturally, changed and evolved over the years as I have grown as a person and discovered more about me and who I am.

However, one thing that has remained is my passion for Spain and the Spanish way of life. Spaniards have discovered the art to living: simplicity. They are a nation which celebrates life, love and nature and they have no qualms about it. Truthfully, it is a trait that has to be admired and respected.

The Spanish way of life has completely changed me, for the better, and I will be forever grateful for that. I have learned so much from being here, from the people I have met, the places I have seen and the balance of life I have embraced while being here.

Why Chasing Butterflies?

Chasing Butterflies was the only option for the title of this blog.

Initially, this was due to my passion for butterflies, but now it’s purely because of the powerful message to be learned through chasing what you love.

I had spent years chasing something, not knowing what it was, that would lead me to happiness. I spent so much time in my pursuit that I ended up pushing myself further and further away from it.

What this blog contains is the result of my chasing; therefore, there is no better title.
I hope that you will enjoy this blog.

I´m going to leave you now with one of my favourite quotes:
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty” Maya Angelou.

Giana xoxo

* While the photos I have on my blog are my own, the photos featured on this page, obviously enough, weren´t taken by me. The credit goes to my dear friends!

I think that´s a great idea! People love reading articles and blogs on that style, well I do anyway! And there really aren´t that many out there! If you do decide to go down that path then I wish you luck and will enjoy following you along the way!

I am certainly learning what people like from this series. it is great. if you think of any stuff I can add to the list (which will now extend past 50) then please let me know. You have done a big move and no doubt have a few pearls you could share………

I´ll most certainly have a think and see if I can come up with anything!
One of my good friends is from New Zealand, Carly. She has written a fantastic blog documenting her journey and experience here I´ll leave you the link incase you´d like to see Spain, France and Singapore through the eyes or a New Zealander! http://miramiandmog.wordpress.com/
Looking forward to reading your next installment!:)

I have gotten so behind on my reading – I made a note to visit your blog over a week ago and I am sorry I didn’t visit sooner. You and I certainly have some parallels in our life stories! I hope your journey continues to inspire and provide you with amazing experiences and I look forward to following them!

Thanks for taking the time to come visit my blog Matt and most of all thank you for your best wishes for my journey! I´ve really enjoyed reading your blog and I´m looking forward to reading even more of it once exam season is over and I can breathe again:)

Hello! thank you for liking some of my posts and following my blog. I am an instant fan of yours since you are living “the dream” as far as I am concerned! SPAIN! gosh you lucky duck! Its waaay near the top of my must visit list 😀 thanks again for the support, its all every student can ask for 🙂

You´re more than welcome, I wish I had discovered your blog sooner! I would recommend Spain to everyone! Such a great country, such great people! Thank you for your support and I look forward to reading more of your posts 🙂

So to show how much i have grown to love your blog, I have nominated you as one of my top picks for the lovely blogger awards… visit my blog for the full post on that if you like and keep up the great work! much love and respect.

Spain!!!!!!!!! i just cannot express what happens to me, when i simply hear the word, it has been my ultimate destination to visit, i believe the place is beyond beautiful, and you probably are beyond lucky to have been there…….. All i can say now is Spain….. just hold on a few more years and i’ll be there…… 😀

Absolutely excellent blog, so true and heartfelt (and so well written too!) I’m from Mayo, Ireland, so I can relate to the endless need to fill silence with weather, sheep and that new tractor Farmer O’Malley got down the road! 😉 😀 I love Spain, I would love to visit it someday!!

It´s funny, I never took much notice of that need to fill the silence when I was living at home but since leaving it´s something that I´ve realised the Irish are very good at and I really like that about us! Thank you for checking out my blog and taking the time to write such a lovely comment! G.

Congratulations! We loved your interesting photo’s and posts, so we’ve decided to give you a Grade 4 BlOgcean Award! If you want to know more about your award or nominate someone else, then visit:http://blogceanawardsofficial.wordpress.com/
Our aim is to spread the love of Blogging and encourage achieving Bloggers to do their best, so keep up the fab work! 🙂

Thank you so much 🙂 I love eating as healthy as possible, it just makes me feel so much better. I decided to go to school to study nutrition so that I can share my passion. Glad you like my blog, I look forward to sharing recipes and all things healthy.
Eva 🙂

Hey I just stumbled across your blog! I’m so jealous of the leap of faith you made to Spain, (which I also love. I lived in Malaga for a year in 2007/8 – best year ever) I’m stuck in London (for the time being) and trying to find happiness in the concrete jungle (hence the blog!) but I really admire you for following your dream. I definitely hope to escape soon too! Thanks for posting. Drop by sometime. Peace xx

Hello Giana,
Thank you and you’re very welcome! I hope that you’re having a wonderful week as well. The weather in Toronto has been amazing. It is finally fall and I am happy the heat and humidity are gone!
Éva ❤

Thank you so much for the nomination! I´m honoured, I went back to work this week ,after six weeks off, so I have been distracted all week. Will be posting as usual from tonight, well I hope I will anyway! Have a great day and congratulations on your award! G, 🙂

So much life, vibrance and joy un every post. Every adventure is a visual delight. Thanks for the award. I am honored. I tried to find it in your archive but somehow can. Wishing you and your family all the joys of the holidays.

I just found your blog from a comment on another blog I follow and I fell in love with Spain all over again! Wonderful photos. I also moved to Spain after university but I didn’t find a way to stay longer than 6 months. I miss it like an ache in my bones! Thanks for bringing beautiful images into my day.

Thanks so much, you´ve made my Sunday! I´ll most certainly accept the award!! I will do the post tomorrow, thank you so much for thinking of me! I´m over the moon! So kind of you! Have a great Sunday 🙂

Hi Giana, I see you’ve commented on a couple of posts on my old Anotherdayinparadise2 blog. I started a new blog late last year, and the link is anotherday2paradise
I will follow you again, as your pics are really lovely. Sylvia

Hi Sylvia, thanks so much for letting me know! I will head over and follow you there. I have been gone from the blogging world for a long time now, as you probably have noticed. I needed to take the time. I’m delighted to be back and looking forward to checking out your new blog! Thanks for your support! Have a fantastic day! Giana.

Hello newest Spikey! I know, a bit corny, eh, but that’s the term that has come to stick for those folk who are part of the clan known to be followers of Uncle Spike 🙂

Thank you… I really appreciate that as I for one, know how many interesting and entertaining blogs are out there.

My aim is to deliver an eclectic offering of posts, from my ‘point n shoot’ attempts at basic photography, to the sharing of my travel adventures over the decades, as well as day to day happenings here on the farm. Oh, plus a few observations on life as I see it, thrown in for good measure.

My promise to you is not to be overbearing, just a couple of posts a day, maybe 3 at weekends if I have something special to share. But if you are at a loose end one day, maybe you’ll enjoy trawling through some of my older stuff too. I have added plenty of categories to help in said digging process.

Classic last shot by the way (above in teal coloured tight jeans, or whatever I should call them)

I absolutely love your About page… It says so much about you and yet in some way, also so much about me and I think of every person young age… We have gone through our education but…it’s like something is missing. Not something, a LOT! Some on us recognise that and have the courage to do something about it and go that road we call “finding ourselves” and enjoy in real life while others (most) just dig that feeling deep inside and hope this job will make them happy, this relationship will make them happy, this vacation will make them happy and so on… First, you have to realise what it is that makes you happy and it is often something you did not expect. 🙂 Oh, and love yourself and respect your feelings and decisions which is always easier said than done.

Thanks so much, delighted you like it! I need to update it, it´s on my ever growing to do list! You´re so right, until you are happy in yourself and are doing the things that you love, life can seem like a chore. Life is too short to waste it, you need to get up and chase what it is that makes you happy. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my about page and for commenting! I really appreciate it! Best wishes, Giana.

You are welcome and I can see you already made yourself at home over at “my place”. Awesome 🙂
I have stumbled upon a great video from Upworthy and I will see how I can incorporate it in some post soon, but it says so much about our generation (young people becoming adults) and I liked it. It speaks what we have discussed here and more. 🙂

I came across your blog since I’ve started learning Spanish and I think you would be interested in the Spanish language program we’re launching at lexikeet.com. I want to ask what you would think of trying it out with a free premium account as a reviewer for your blog. We think we’d be a great fit for your readers who are learning Spanish. If you’re interested let me know and take care!